


Bittersweet Cup Of Coffee

by lrz_xx



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Bittersweet, Coffee, Coffee Shops, F/M, Loneliness, One-Sided Attraction, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-17
Updated: 2018-04-17
Packaged: 2019-04-24 06:34:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,965
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14349924
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lrz_xx/pseuds/lrz_xx
Summary: Haru has finally achieved her goal and opened her own coffee shop. She is waiting for Ren to arrive as he promised. But even if on the surface it should be one of the happiest days in her life Haru have to also go trought her current and past feelings towards Ren.





	Bittersweet Cup Of Coffee

**Author's Note:**

> I didn't tag all the characters as Ann, Ryuji, Futaba and Yusuke have so small part in the story that it would have felt somehow wrong to tag them.

Haru stared the coffee shop door impatiently. It was finally the day. The day when her cafe was going to open and Ren had promised to be her first customer. He had also said that he would bring a present. Of course those were both promises of their teenage years when Haru was just learning the art of coffee making. She took a deep breath. All the ex-phantom thieves had kept in touch but it was long time ago since she and Ren had met just the two of them. Another bang of memories swept trough Haru’s body causing her whole body to trembe. She had been so happy then. It had been like a fairytale. They had met and talked and she had without really noticing it slowly opened her whole heart to Ren. Just to be smashed on the wall on that faithful meeting with Takakura-san and after that Ren telling her that they were just good friends. She still remembered how she had cried herself to sleep that night after Ren had left. She wasn’t even able to show Ren out of the Okumura mansion.

That of course was a long time ago and Haru had met others and even dated some nice boys during her college years but the fluttering feeling of her first love never returned. She honestly wished that Ren would come alone.

“Please, just this once”, she whispered to the empty cafe still staring at the door. It was raining and she could see people with their umbrellas passing by. And she could see how a coupled up couple under the same umbrella stopped in front of the coffee shop door. Haru stared them and felt how sadness rose from her heart. The couple was Ren and Makoto. So there goes the good old conversation between just the two of them. Haru took another deep breath and smiled the Haru smile. Not really confident but confident enough to show that she had her own opinions and was ready to defend them.

Ren and Makoto pushed in with the kling of the bell above the door. They looked so happy together but now they both looked at Haru smiling their friendly smiles that twinged Haru’s heart. She felt herself as really despicable person.

“Welcome! I wished you would remember”, Haru said directing her words mainly to Ren but tactfully glanced at Makoto too. Ren pulled out a fabulous flower arrangment from the bag that he and Makoto had been holding together.

“This is little something we made for you”, Ren said, “Makoto chose the flowers and I arranged them.”

“Oh, that’s right! You used to work at flower shop a lot in the past!” Haru gasped and received the flowers with a bow. Ren’s part time job at flower shop and him helping at Leblanc had been like sign for Haru. In her fantasies she had made Ren as her partner in coffee shop business. She had imagined that Ren would have decorated their place with his flower arrangment skills and then they could have created the magical Haru-Ren coffee together. She had even started to make experimets to create special coffee bean that would have represented their passion and destiny as coffee creators. Of course those had just been the dreams of teenager who had planned for unexisting future that would never come. Now, when Haru thought about those plans she felt the heat rising on her cheeks and she had to turn away.

“I have to get some water for these beauties”, she said cheerfully and rushed towards the sink, “Just choose whatever place you prefer. I’ll serve your coffee just in a moment!”

Haru splashed some water on the flowers and smiled for the harmony and beauty shown in color and arrangment of the flowers. She could see Makoto’s elegant taste and Ren’s expertise entwined together resulting in a master piece of flower arrangment. Something that you saw rarely these days when flower arrangment had become more like an art of self expression than art of harmony.

Haru placed the flowers on the counter where they could be seen from the window too. Maybe they could create some happiness for occasional passer bys as for Haru they were more like a source of pain than happiness. Haru took her coffee making tools and picked up her special beans suited just for this occasion. She hummed silently on her own as she brewed the coffee. She glanced at the customers’ area and saw Makoto and Ren sitting on the best spot of her cafe looking each other with that look that they had shared for just between them since the teenage years. Haru could feel tears in rhe corners of her eyes. Just in time for her special coffee. She continued humming and gently wiped the tears on her finger tips and droppend them to the cups of coffee she had just prepared. She smiled gently for the whirl of ripples on the coffee cups and gently moved those two cups on the tray and moved or maybe floated like in a dream to Ren and Makoto. Gently arranging their cups in front of them smiling and bowing.

“Haru-chan, we came here to meet you. Not only to drink your coffee”, said Makoto smiling to Haru at the same time as her slend fingers picked up the coffee cup. She took a sip and gasped, “Haru-chan! This is magical!”

Ren took his sip after curious glance at Haru. She waited his judgement in fluttering anguish. Ren didn’t say anything after first sip just took another and then slowly placed the cup on the table.

“It is interesting indeed”, he said looking at Haru thoughtfully, “It’s very sweet but it has strong bitter after taste… and I think there is something salty in it.”

Haru felt Ren’s toughtful eyes on her and was wondering had he figured it out. After all, she had served them Ren-Haru coffee. Of course not the original blend that stuff she had thrown away long time ago. This one was the new version combining the feelings she had when she thought their time together. Sweet and bitter at the same time flavoured with the fragrance of tears. She tried to smile but failed.

“You look exhausted, are you ok Haru-chan?” Makoto asked sounding worried.

“Ah, of course I’m ok… I’m maybe just stressed out. This week has been hectic with all the preparations going on and there was also the board meeting of Okumura Foods.”

“Haru you shouldn’t burden yourself”, Makoto said gently and sipped more of her coffee.

“I’m honestly fine. It must be just stress blowing out all of sudden now when you are here”, Haru said smiling.

Makoto and Ren looked still worried. Haru knew she should change the subject fast. Otherwise they would continue questioning her and at this moment she didn’t really want to talk about her life. Only if Ren had came alone.

“I heard your wedding day is approaching. Have you already got everything figured out?” Haru blurted out and regretted it immediately after the words had slipped out her mouth.

“Not yet. But we still have time and luckily we have a lot of helping hands around”, Makoto said and her eyes sparkled.

“Hmm, I guess so. If you need anything that I can help with, just let me know”, Haru said, “I would offer to provide the warm drinks but I guess Sakura-san would get offended if some one else than him provides the food and drinks.”

“Yeah, Soijiro would be devastated”, Ren said smiling and they all laughed.

“You’ll be such an elegent bride Mako-chan”, Haru said trying to hide her blush as she remembered how she herself had just yesterday bought herself some Makotoish clothes but had decided not to wear them after all. Haru was happy that she had abandoned the idea. She couldn’t even imaging how embarassed she would have felt if she had been there now as some kind of phony-Makoto.

Door opened with a cling and Haru heard catatonic chatter of joyous voices whirling in. She turned and saw Ann, Ryuji, Yusuke and Futaba all with their own personal smiles on their faces.

“Oh, I didn’t know you all were coming!” Haru said thinking that now this would be less embarassing as she wasn’t the third wheel anymore, “sit down your coffee will come soon.”

“Oh, please no coffee!” Futaba shouted out and Ryuji nodded eagerly next to her.

“Hot choclate then”, Haru smiled to them. Those two never seemed to get used to coffee. Soijiro must have tried his best with Futaba thou.

While mixing cocoa and breving coffee Haru glanced to the customers' area. She gasped and almost dropped her tools. She had thought that things would be less akward now but looking at her friends she felt her heart sunk. Ann and Ryuji were sitting there so close that their cheeks almost touched. Very un-japanese indeed but they probably made it on purpose that way. And Yusuke and Futaba, they were quarreling like usual but it looked more like debate between close friends than real fight. With Yusuke Futaba’s voice never broke and she never mumbled with him. They were very different and very similar at the same time. So in the end Haru was the only one without pair. She wished Morgana was there.

She set cups and plates on the trays and took them to her friends. They were all smiles to her and said compliments on her cofee, cocoa and cafe. Still Haru couldn’t prevent the feeling of loneliness creeping in. It had been long time ago they gathered together like this. She looked over the counter at Ren and Makoto who were lost to each others eyes.

“So we both got dumbed”, said familiar voice next to her.

Haru turned and saw blue-eyed black cat looking at her smiling or that’s how it felt. She wasn’t sure if cats could smile.

“Mona-chan! When did you arrive!”

“Just a moment ago. I have been investigating the surroundings.”

Haru laughed. She wasn’t sure what Morgana meant but she was happy he was there. It felt a bit less lonely now.

“You know that you are closing yourself outside by yourself,” Morgana said observing Haru and the others.

“I know”, Haru said silently and then whispeded, “It just seems that I can’t stop loving him.”

“Well, if I find a way to turn myself back to human I’ll ask you out for sure”, Morgana said jokingly.

“And I might say yes my kindred spirit”, Haru said smiling sadly but at the same time she felt how the bubble of loneliness had started to fade away. It was the opening day of her coffee shop after all and she was surrounded by her friends who had came there on their free will because she was Haru. Not because she was “That Okumura girl”.

“We should join them”, Morgana said streching himself the way only cats can.

“But what if customers…” Haru started but Morgana interrupted her.

“Doesn’t you have that bell over the door to warn you of customers coming in? It’s ridiculous that you are standing here all alone waching your friends when there is no other customers.”

Morgana jumped down from counter and walked towards their friends. Haru couldn’t stop smiling. That was some Morgana magic that he was so skilled at sprinkling around whenever she was feeling gloomy. And he was right of course. There was no one else preventing her from joining her friends than she herself. She sighed smiling and closed her eyes for a moment to listen to her friends joyous chatter. Then without a moment of hesitation she walked to her friends and pulled out chair for herself.

**Author's Note:**

> After finishing Haru's confidant path I felt I had to write this story. Haru is the only confidant (which I have maxed, I haven't finished all the confidant paths) which after being rejected by Ren seems really hurt by it. With many others like Makoto (yes, I have tested this even if I pair Ren and Makoto), Takemi or Kawakami you don't really notice any reaction as if they didn't feel being rejected at all as they were not expecting any romantic relationship and some like Ohya who seemed to expect romantic relationship rejection didn't seem to mean much to them, but Haru was totally different. In her case it felt like you had really smashed her heart by rejecting her. And in many ways when I played the game it felt that Haru was a bit of an outlier among the outliers. And that is what this story is about.


End file.
